
Elizabeth Ferry
Elizabeth Ferry is a writer and photographer in South Royalton who values local and sustainable agriculture. Her photographs and articles can be viewed on her website. The Food Works root cellar is named in honor of her parents, Ronald and the late Sylvia Ferry, for their support of the organization over many years.
A Farmhouse Feeds Its Neighbors
Food Works’ Two Rivers Center Opens a New Root Cellar and Builds from There
Elizabeth Ferry | March 01, 2010 | Community & History
When Joseph Kiefer and Martin Kemple founded Food Works in 1987, phrases such as “food security” and “local food system” had yet to come into common parlance. It was ambitious—maybe even radical at the time—to think of using gardens and locally grown food to address the root causes of childhood hunger.
Older dairy cows could become steady source of local beef
Elizabeth Ferry | December 01, 2009 | Issues Archive
It all starts with a single surprising statistic: 40,000 mature dairy cows leave the state each year. They are so-called “market cows”—dairy cattle who have stopped producing milk at an economically viable rate. They are culled from their herds and trucked primarily to Pennsylvania, where they and other cows from the Northeast are slaughtered and processed. Their meat then enters the industrial food distribution system.
Women’s Agricultural Network—WAgN
Elizabeth Ferry | September 01, 2009 | 2009
We all know that the number of farmers in America is declining and their age is increasing. Given that farming is often associated with men, we may interpret this to mean that fewer men are going into farming. But the word farmer isn’t gender specific. The number of women in agriculture is actually growing, according to experts in the field.
Who Will This Feed?
Local Grain and Oil Production in Vermont
Elizabeth Ferry | March 01, 2009 | Spring '09 | Issue eight
Growing Up in 4-H
Elizabeth Ferry | September 01, 2008 | Issues Archive
4-H is a national enrichment program for young people ages 8 to 18. Around the country, local clubs teach specific skills intended to give young people four types of experiences that, organizers believe, contribute to positive youth development: mastery, belonging, independence, and generosity. Developing these skills is what it means to grow up in 4-H.
A Cheese for the Ages
Historic Plymouth Cheese Comfortable in the 21st Century
Elizabeth Ferry | June 01, 2008 | Issues Archive
Writing Down the Farm
Elizabeth Ferry | March 01, 2008 | Issues Archive
The logic is straightforward and simple. It goes like this: Farming is the one business that everyone needs, because everyone eats. Add to it the fact that children grow up—often faster than adults can imagine. And when Vermont children become adults, they may want to become part of the local food system, either as a farmer or an eater.